Matthew 5:13-16 You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
People enjoy attributing saltiness to themselves. Of course, all people desire to be viewed as good, wholesome, honest, capable, intelligent, and the like. Who would not want to associate with such people? Our acquaintances should love us because we possess those wonderful attributes. A high self-esteem is beneficial and healthy; however, Jesus is not talking about humans in general or about those who believe they are salty, worthy of acceptance and love. No, He is talking about a certain group of people, often hated and despised by the general public. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:11-12) They are followers of Christ, reconciling people to God through his life and death. These are the people who God will bless and someday reward for their faithfulness to Jesus and subsequently to God himself. They are the ones who will be glorified, presented to all of creation as God’s own children. As we see in Jesus’ life and later in Paul’s life, the unsaved will abuse those who believe God is alive and that He created all that was made in heaven and Earth. In today’s world, someone with a strong belief in Jesus or God is seen as naive at best or just a ninny, unworthy of respect. Even in our modern world, in some countries Christians face imprisonment or death for their faith. Salt has always been viewed as a valuable and treasured commodity for its uses with animals and humans. Historically, large and small towns grew around or near salt mines. Traders carried salt hundreds of miles to those communities that were not near salt deposits. When salt was once considered by many as valuable as precious metals, traders of salt became very wealthy. Humans everywhere have valued salt because it not only enhances the flavor of food but it preserves food so that it will not spoil. As a healing substance, even today doctors will recommend warm salt water as a mouth wash. Salt’s importance is found in the Bible where in the Old Testament salt was an oblation to God, a gift during the ritual of sacrificing animals to God. When Jesus speaks of believers as salt and light, He is saying those who present themselves to God wholeheartedly are a gift to God, even though resented by an unGodly world. Paul enumerates for the Corinthians how much he suffered for his testimony of Jesus Christ to the world. Often he was treated as a prisoner of war, bound and tortured by the kingdom of darkness: those who hate Jesus Christ and his kingdom. In summarizing his life IN CHRIST, Paul talks of the difficulties and his perseverance in serving the living God: Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots — regarded as impostors—known, yet regarded as unknown — dying, and yet we live on — beaten, and yet not killed — sorrowful, yet always rejoicing — poor, yet making many rich — having nothing, and yet possessing everything. (2 Corinthians 6:4-10) In his work for the Lord, Paul seemed to believe God himself had bound him head and foot for his glorious work, not just as a slave to the Lord, but as one unworthy of the calling to those he served. Jesus said, Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. (Matthew 5:11) Are we willing to fulfill Jesus’ words as Paul did or are we believing only for the blessings of God: peace, security, prosperity, and so on?
Can we lose our saltiness? Will a prophet stop prophesying? Can the flames turn to embers? Yes, God always allows our will to be the determining factor in following him. We can stop our mouths; we can close our ears to God. We are not automatons, carrying on with prescribed orders; no, we are free-willing creations. We can make decisions to do God’s will or not to do God’s will. That is why we are so precious to God when we choose him and eventually, as followers of him, we will be called children of God. As Jesus Christ came to do the Father’s will, we also are willing to be obedient to God in all situations. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. (John 6:38) This obedience to God is the main characteristic of the born again life. However, we can decide as Mark John decided, not to follow through on a specific ministry as he did with Paul’s first missionary excursion. He did not lose his saltiness, for he is mentioned later in the scriptures, but he did cause Barnabas and Paul to split over his failure to follow through on his commitment to them as a helper on the first journey. Others lost their saltiness permanently because they deserted the mission to minister the Good News to the world: Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. (2 Timothy 4:10) By going back into the world’s culture, Demas would escape persecution and isolation. He would not carry the saltiness that Jesus said would be blessed by God. Escaping the responsibility of the cross, he would die as a man of the world, no persecution in that, but for Christians from the beginning of time, the cross of Jesus has also been imprinted on their lives. John said to lose your life for Christ is to gain life, but to win the world and its acceptance is to lose your life. We can say of every believer who wholehearted serves the Lord: You are the salt of the earth. Sadly, the same could not be said about Demas. As we read in the last book of the Bible: So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. (Revelation 3:16)
Jesus also said that those who are persecuted for his name are lights to the world. Their lives should be put on a stand, not hidden under a bowl. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:15-16) How many of us light up the room when we enter? How many of us are known as passionate Christians who want to talk about Christ and his goodness, forsaking the concerns of the world? Conversations with other Christians should center on Jesus Christ and his concerns. We are not to be experts on worldly situations, for we are aliens here, temporarily marking time until we see Jesus. Yes, we can be knowledgeable about the world, but not steeped in the world and its interests. Some Christians know more about the celebrities in the world than they know about the scriptures. Sometimes we feed at the media trough, consuming the daily mush, but neglecting the spirit of life in us. We spend hours devouring the content of the world, but forget fasting and praying as the apostles and the nascent church in the New Testament demonstrated for us. How can we live a new-creature’s life if we feed mainly at the old creature’s culture and lifestyle. We are fooling ourselves if we follow this pattern, expecting spiritual fruit. No light will emit from the old culture, the old lifestyle. We are darkened in our presentation if we only know the old things in our lives. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. (John 3:19) We are not to concentrate on the things the people of the world love, for they love darkness. Instead, we are to do the will of the Father because we are his children, loved greatly by him. Faith is not faith if there is no light in it or no harvest of fruit. Faith will produce good deeds, good works; let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. James says, What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? (James 2:14) Believing and then sinking your life into the world is not saving faith. The world is full of self-interest, self-glorification, and a lack of servanthood. But light is turned on when we illustrate by our works that we believe in Jesus Christ and in the salvation message. Abraham demonstrated his faith by offering up Isaac to God, his work of faithfulness. Through Isaac God’s promise to Abraham was to be fulfilled. We are Jesus’ offspring, the promise of life to the world. As salty children of God, as people of faith, we reflect God’s light in the world. We present the world with God’s reconciling message through the acceptance of Jesus Christ’s work on the cross. When we express the light of God rather than the concerns of the world, we can accept Jesus’ words: You are the light of the world. Let us shine, let the Spirit place us on a stand for all to see. Then God will be glorified.
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